Scholz wants to talk to Putin about Ukraine “soon”.

war of aggression

Scholz wants to talk to Putin about Ukraine “soon”.

Chancellor Scholz emphasizes his willingness to talk to Russian President Putin about the war in Ukraine. However, he will not do this alone.

With a view to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to resume discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin “soon”. “Yes, I have decided to speak to the Russian President at the right time,” said the SPD politician on the ARD program “Caren Miosga”. “But I am a responsible politician, I don’t do this alone,” he added. A conversation with Putin requires a lot of contacts and conversations with many others.

The situation also needs to be discussed with Ukraine, said Scholz. When asked when would be the right time to talk to Putin, Scholz replied: “Soon.”

The SPD politician emphasized that care must be taken “that Ukraine can rely on us and others and does not have to fear that it will be left alone. And that at the same time we do everything we can to ensure that this war does not escalate.” And of course we have to see whether there aren’t ways to find out whether this war has to go on forever or whether we can find ways to end it.

Scholz had already emphasized his willingness to talk to Putin about a just peace in Ukraine in mid-October. He last spoke to Putin by phone in December 2022. He had called for a diplomatic solution and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. In June, Scholz did not want to rule out a conversation with Putin in the future, but said at the time that a conversation only made sense if there was something concrete to discuss. Moscow, in turn, declared at the beginning of October that Putin was open to dialogue, even if relations between Moscow and Berlin were effectively at zero.